Therapeutic muds have long been used to promote physical recovery and healing. These therapeutic muds are comprised of decomposed and humificated organic matter, bacteria, enzymes, amino acids, various types of clay, minerals, salts, and gases. Therapeutic muds, due to the nature of being harvested from the ground, often lack consistency in composition and properties from location to location. Chemical analyses have revealed that specific stable organic compounds, known as humic substances with primarily humic acids, are present in therapeutic muds and drive their biological and therapeutic action.
Humic substances, including primarily humic and fulvic acids and humin, have been shown to have a number of beneficial properties, including: stimulating the immune system; acting as an antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal agent; and acting as an anti-inflammatory. Furthermore, humic substances are common in the biosphere: soil, natural water, bottom sediment, etc. being the largest reservoir of organic carbon in nature. In particular, humic substances in the soil contribute to soil native properties and functions as well as fertility through stimulating microbial organisms and stabilizing nutrients in the soil. Humic substances in their native state do not have significant biological and chemical activity, because their main active functional groups are blocked by metal cations, primarily calcium, magnesium, fine clay minerals and structural coagulation.
While therapeutic muds have been used by people for centuries, they have a number of limitations. These muds, because they are harvested from the ground, are subject to contamination and the effects of pollution, in addition to being inconsistent from location to location. Furthermore, therapeutic muds require as many as 15 full body applications, applied by a professional, in order to be effective, making them both costly and time consuming. Lastly, therapeutic muds are not easily discarded, and often require a mud bath to remove.
The art discloses humic or fulvic acid based products for dietary or nutritional supplementation, promotion of hair growth and heath, and amelioration of certain skin conditions (e.g. acne, athlete's foot, eczema, etc.) and promotion of skin health. However, there exists a need in the art for a concentrated and active humic acids-based product for external application that is applicable by a user to a targeted area of the body (for healing of diseases or for relief of muscle soreness) in the privacy of their home, training facility, etc. that can be simply discarded by washing down the drain.